The Mayo or Yoreme are an Indigenous group in Mexico, living in southern

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

, northern

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

and small settlements in

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

. Mayo people originally lived near the Mayo River and Fuerte River valleys. The Mayo sustain themselves mainly by agriculture and fishing, but also create artwork and crafts.

Name

In their own language, they call themselves Yoreme. The term ''Mayo'' means "the people of the river bank" and comes from the Mayo River.

Language

The

Mayo language Mayo is an Uto-Aztecan language. It is spoken by about 40,000 people, the Mexican Mayo or ''Yoreme'' Indians, who live in the South of the Mexican state of Sonora and in the North of the neighboring state of Sinaloa. Under the General Law of ...

belongs to the Cahita branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. It is closely related to

Yaqui The Yaqui, Hiaki, or Yoeme, are an Indigenous people of Mexico and Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe, who speak the Yaqui language, a Uto-Aztecan language. Their primary homelands are in Río Yaqui valley in the no ...

and it is spoken by approximately 40,000 people (

Ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensive catalogue of languages. It w ...

1995 census).

Culture

They own traditional authorities, who are elected by vote and their hierarchy is respected on par with the Mexican civil laws. The earliest inhabitants of this region hunted, fished, and gathered plants. They gradually developed an agricultural technique that allowed them to settle in various communities. On arrival of the

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...

in the present-day states of Sonora and Sinaloa, the Mayos were part of an Indian confederacy with the

Apaches The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

, Pima, and

. Their purpose was the joint defense of the invasion of other groups, mutual respect for their territory, and cultural exchange. Currently, most Mayo farm, often with advanced techniques. They fish and make handicrafts intended for use by the community. They build their

adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...

or wood houses, depending on the climate and location.

Communities

The Mayo live in the following settlements:

Sonora

Álamos Municipality Álamos is a Municipalities of Sonora, municipality in south-western Sonora, Mexico. It includes the town of Álamos. It is one of the 72 municipalities of the state of Sonora, located in the southeastern part of the state. Its municipal seat is t ...

(settlements such as

Álamos Álamos () is a town in Álamos Municipality in the States of Mexico, Mexican state of Sonora, in northwestern Mexico. Historically an important center of silver mining, the town's economy is now dominated by the tourist sector. Designated a ...

and

El Salado El Salado is a town in the municipality of Álamos in the Mexican state of Sonora. It is south southeast of Álamos and northwest of El Fuerte, in Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico Ci ...

). * Benito Juárez Municipality (settlements such as Aceitunitas (Sube y Baja) and Villa Juárez). *

Cajeme Cajeme is one of the 72 Municipalities of Mexico, municipalities of the northwestern List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of Sonora. It is named after Cajemé, a Yaqui people, Yaqui leader. The municipality has an area of 3,312.05 km2 (1 ...

Municipality (settlements such as Agrícola Tarasca,

Ciudad Obregón Ciudad Obregón is a city in southern Sonora. It is the state's second largest city after Hermosillo and serves as the municipal seat of Cajeme. As of 2020, the city has a population of 436,484. Ciudad Obregón is south of the country's U.S.� ...

Cócorit Cócorit is a town located in the municipality of Cajeme in the southern part of the Mexican state of Sonora. The name of the town is derived from the Yaqui (Yoem noki, or Hiak noki) word for a chili pepper, ''ko'oko'i.'' Cócorit and the munici ...

, and Zona de Granjas (Granjas Mica)). *

Etchojoa Municipality Etchojoa is one of the seventy-two municipalities in the Mexican state of Sonora. It is located in the southern part of the state, in the Mayo Valley area and on the coast of the Gulf of California. Its municipal seat and most inhabited town is ...

(settlements such as Agustín Melgar,

Bacobampo Bacobampo is a town in Etchojoa Municipality in Sonora, in northwestern Mexico. It is situated on the west bank of the Mayo River, 20 km north of Huatabampo and 25 km southwest of Navajoa. It is an agricultural town surrounded by fields. Bacoba ...

, Etchojoa, and Yemobari). * Huatabampo Municipality (settlements such as Adolfo López Mateos, Huatabampo, and Zamicarit). *

Navojoa Municipality Navojoa is a Municipalities of Sonora, municipality in the List of states of Mexico, state of Sonora in north-western Mexico. As of 2015, the municipality had a total population of 163,650. The municipal seat is the city of Navojoa. Demographics N ...

(settlements such as Agiabampo,

Navojoa Navojoa is the fifth-largest city in the northern Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Sonora and is situated in the southern part of the state. The city is the administrative seat of Navojoa Municipality, located in the Mayo River (Mexico), ...

, and Yorentamehua). * San Ignacio Río Muerto Municipality (settlements such as Agraristas de Ciudad Obregón, and Tetabiate).

Sinaloa

* Ahome Municipality (settlements such as 89 B de I,

Ahome Ahome () is a municipality on the coast of the Gulf of California in the northwestern part of the Mexican state of Sinaloa, being the westernmost municipality in Sinaloa; it is adjacent to the southern border of Sonora state. It reported 388,344 ...

, and Zapotillo Uno (Zapotillo Viejo)). * Angostura Municipality (settlements such as Alhuey, Angostura, and San Luciano). *

Choix Municipality The Municipality of Choix is a municipality in the Mexican state of Sinaloa in northwestern Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders th ...

(settlements such as Agua Caliente Grande (De Gastelum), Choix, and Rincón de Agua Caliente Grande). * El Fuerte Municipality (settlements such as Adolfo López Mateos (Jahuara Segundo) and Zozorique). *

Guasave Municipality Municipality of Guasave is a Municipalities of Sinaloa, municipality in the List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of Sinaloa in northwestern Mexico. Its seat is Guasave, Sinaloa, Guasave city. Political subdivision Guasave Municipality is su ...

(settlements such as Adolfo Ruíz Cortines,

Guasave Guasave () is a city and the seat of the homonymous municipality known as the Agricultural Heart of Mexico (El Corazon Agricola de Mexico) in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. It is located in the northwestern part of Mexico, 62km (38 miles) southeas ...

, and Tamazula)

History

The first traces of settlements in the Mayo region date from 180 CE in the present municipality of Huatabampo,

. In 1531, after the

conquest of the Aztec Empire The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was a pivotal event in the history of the Americas, marked by the collision of the Aztec Triple Alliance and the Spanish Empire. Taking place between 1519 and 1521, this event saw the Spanish conquistad ...

by the Spanish, military campaigns were organized to subdue the Mayo region to the Spanish crown. However, this was not achieved until 1599, through the mediation of Jesuit missionaries. The Jesuit Pedro Méndez tried evangelizing the Mayo. However, Mayos did not cease to resist the Spaniards. In 1740 marked an armed uprising, which ended with victory again for the Spanish, after which a period of peace lasted almost a century. For 1867 the Mayo returned to take up arms with the

s against the government of Mexico. They achieved a peace agreement after the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

with the distribution of land as communal property. The Mayo fought with Alvaro Obregón's Constitutionalist fighters during the revolution.

Festivities

The main Mayo festival takes place during

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

and portrays the

passion of Christ The Passion (from latin language, Latin , "to suffer, bear, endure") is the short final period before the death of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, described in the four canonical gospels. It is commemorated in Christianity every year during Holy ...

. Other festivals celebrated St. Juan Bautista, St.

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italians, Italian Mysticism, mystic, poet and Friar, Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Chris ...

, and the

Virgin of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, J ...

Mayo flag

The Mayo Flag was designed by a young Sonoran individual, whose name is not known. A deer surrounded by stars, called ''masochoquim'' or "Deer of the stars" in Cahita culture, stands on an orange field, representing the earth.

Notable Mayo people

Fernando Valenzuela Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea (; November 1, 1960 – October 22, 2024), nicknamed "El Toro", was a Mexican professional baseball pitcher. Valenzuela played 17 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons, from 1980 to 1997 (except for a one-year sabba ...

, professional baseball playerYetman and Van Devender 3 * Joel Huiqui, professional association football player